


Every Road Leads Home To You

by FlyingDutchy



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Caring, F/F, One-Shots, Power Exchange, Reunion, Soulmates, prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-28 22:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingDutchy/pseuds/FlyingDutchy
Summary: All roads lead to Rome, but no matter which road they followed, they always found each other.One-shot, prompt based, series about Kara and Alex.I take requests leave them in the comments--but no promises. If I feel inspired, I'll write about it.





	1. Born to be my baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Kara met Alex, she knew she just met her soulmate. The only problem was that humans didn't have the same underpinnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt based on the #1 prompt in the list given to me by Aslike. Had to start somewhere safe, right?

Each Kryptonian had one soul bond and Kara found hers the first day she set foot on the new planet.

Kryptonian soul bonds were not like the stories that humans came up with. There was no colorblindness that stopped, no tattoo of a name, no numbers that counted down until you met them floating above their heads, no string to follow that bound them together. There were no obvious signs.

Besides the utter and complete knowledge that filled her the moment she laid eyes upon Alex Danvers.

Kara was still devastated by the loss of her planet, and subsequent abandonment by her sole remaining relative, to the two scientists and their daughter. Then her eyes found those brown ones, and she knew that everything was going to be fine.

 

 

Humans didn’t have soul bonds, or soulmates as their fiction called it.

The epiphany that had engulphed the young Kryptonian was not extended to her new _sister._ She loathed the word and what it meant to their relationship. If she could call pure hatred a relationship. Because she was convinced that’s what Alex felt towards her.

“Mom! The alien broke another glass.” Kara was hurriedly trying to collect all the shards of the shattered glass, which had broken the moment her lips connected just a bit too forcefully. Everything was just so _fragile._ Tears prickled in the back of her eyes as she spit out a few of those shards. Not because they hurt, but because she felt like an utter failure.

“Alex, what did I tell you?” Eliza stormed in the kitchen and frowned at seeing her being bent over on her knees, fretting obsessively over collecting every last of those sharp shards—she didn’t want anyone to step in them and cause even more harm to her new family. The thought of family still hurt, the 23 years she had spent in the Phantom Zone felt only like a mere moment to her.

“Be nice to the alien, yeah, yeah.” Alex rushed out of the room with barely a glance to her. Kara tried not to be affected by her soulmate’s frustration towards her. There were numerous occasions where Kara thought that her body had made a mistake. Alex couldn’t be her soulmate.

It was also illogical, because they believed that soulmates were unique: each Kryptonian only had one. Hers being on Earth would have meant that she would never have met her, if her planet never exploded. That would’ve been better by the constant feeling of rejection and failure. Kara felt she wasn’t worth a single glance.

 

 

“Look at that freak.”

“She seems so lost to the world.”

“She’s autistic, I bet.”

“Ten bucks she’s crying before the end of the day.”

“Oh, ten buck if you _make_ her cry.”

Kara ducked her head. She knew they didn’t expect her to hear them, but she did. She heard every word that was said about her. Kids were cruel, even on Krypton that had been true. But she wasn’t graced with super hearing back then, so she didn’t hear what was being said about her.

“Hey Alex, did you see that new girl?” Her ears perked up at the name. She looked around, but couldn’t see her _sister_ anywhere. The school halls, busy with teens fiddling with their lockers and collecting books—Kara didn’t dare to touch hers after breaking her lock this morning. She’d almost burst into tears, something that had spurred the recent comments about her impending breakdown.

She was able to hear Alex, though.

“Hm?”

“Yeah. She’s a complete nutcase.” It was another girl that spoke with a shrill voice. It wasn’t a nice voice, and the tone was derisory. The image Kara conjured for the girl was anything but flattering, she combined the features of many alien races she found disgusting, and put it in a human sized package. Reptile scales, a bird beak and insect like eyes totally didn’t mash with the haughty voice. The image made her feel slightly better about the comments being thrown her way. “She almost cried this morning, Jake is sure of that.”

“Oh.” Alex sounded completely disinterested.

“Yeah, and the guys made a bet to make her cry for real. We should chip in, it’ll be fun.”

A shuffle and a yelp followed. “Alex, what the hell?”

“That girl is my sister.”

Kara dropped her books in surprise. Laughter rang through the hallway from the students that were watching them likes hawks. Stunned by Alex’s words in her defense—and she missed the rest of the conversation—she felt something warm spread to her chest. She recognized the feeling, it was the same feeling she’d had when she first laid eyes on the brunette girl.

Despite the laughter that was clearly meant to hurt her. A smile started growing on her face.

“What the hell is she laughing about?”

“I don’t think she’s all there, just look at her.”

The comments bounced off her. With a smile on her face, she knelt down to pick up the books she’d strewn along the floor. A pair of hands joined her in her effort. She looked up and saw those familiar brown eyes. She stumbled once again.

“Kara are you okay—why are you smiling?” Kara shook her head, but kept her smile on her face.

The comments in the hallway turned against the older Danvers sister. “What is Danvers doing with the basket case?”

“I bet she’ll give her the ‘become friends then betray her’ treatment.”

Kara frowned at the guys. A hand nudged her chin upwards, Alex had a supportive smile on her face. “You can hear them?” Kara nodded.

“Heard you too.” Alex’s eyes widened. “Thank you.”

She was surprised at the reverence she heard in her voice. Alex ducked her head and quickly pressed the books she’d picked up from the ground into Kara’s hands before stuffing them in her pockets and scoffing. “Don’t mention it.”

“Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks.” She smiled mischievously when Alex’s frowned deepened.

“I said _don’t_.” But Alex was smiling too.

 

 

Kara _hated_ Alex. She hated her soulmate. She hated soulmates, in general. The whole concept of it.

Tears were streaking down her face as she rushed home. Her home, a typical American house with a lawn, a garage, and blue painted wooden frame, was empty as she burst through the front door. She hadn’t bothered unlocking the poor barrier, and the lock splintered as it offered a modicum of resistance.

She stumbled in and headed straight to her room. Guilty at the destruction she’d wrought on the ground floor, she too more care to opening the door to their room. Two beds, with night stands in between, greeted her. She glared at one bed—the one that was made up—and jumped in her own.

She wanted to curl up and cry.

She curled up and cried.

Kara didn’t want to have a soulmate. It only brought her pain.

It had been a nice day at the beach, unlike their first when Kara saved a mother and a baby and Alex got hurt. This time, her sister was surfing along the waves with Timothy and Andrew, two of her sister’s classmates, and Kara was content to simply watch her. She didn’t have many friends, any friends really, but she was content with Alex in her life right now. And, honestly, she couldn’t handle anything more. Adjustment to this new planet was still a challenge.

She’d known that Timothy had a crush on her sister—who _wouldn’t?_ She just never thought he’d act on it. Or that Alex would...

Kara had gotten her hopes up these past months. The incident with Kenny had changed their relationship entirely. Alex had changed her entire group of friends, basically anyone that ever spoke ill of Kara had been discarded. One night, for the first time in months she had found herself able to fully release the feelings she’d been holding in, hiding from everyone because she didn’t want to be a burden while also knowing that she couldn’t face them alone.

They had become inseparable and everyone quickly learned not to attempt that either. Even Eliza and Jeremiah had given up to get Kara to use her own bed, instead she always elected to crawl into Alex’s bed at nights she noticed the old feelings of abandonment and failure creep up towards her heart. Which was still almost every night. The other nights she used the excuse that she couldn’t sleep because she missed Alex’s presence.

Alex never complained, and even whined when she didn’t crawl in besides her.

That’s why she blamed Alex as much as herself for her current pain. Alex had been leading her on—despite not even knowing what Kara felt—and now she’d kissed the boy. The puny boy, with his long girly hair, and big muscles and dimples, of course he’d entice Alex. She’d warned the brunette about him, but her warning had only spurred her on.

Kara cried louder. She recalled Timothy asking Alex something, who had blushed and then glanced towards her, the next she knew their faces were pressed together and Kara felt a sudden burst of pain straight through her heart.

She rocked on the bed. Alex’s bed. _Their_ bed.

Two strong hands stopped her motion. In alarm, she looked up and quickly brushed away her tears. Her red, bloodshot eyes didn’t hide a thing. Alex was staring at her in worry. The brunette’s heart was beating erratically in Kara’s ears, true fear was shown in the frown and the way she gnawed on her lip. “Kara, what’s wrong?”

She shook her head, unable to speak as she gathered her strength.

“You said you’d never, you’d never, _never…_ ”

Alex softened and she snuggled in behind Kara, her slightly longer frame made her the perfect big spoon. Slowly, Alex started rocking her. Gentle movements calmed her down and her breath tickled her ears. “I would never leave you. I promised that, Kara.”

“But.. but…”

“Timothy is just a boy.” Alex had known. “You’re my family. _El Mayara_ , right?”

Kara almost blurted out the truth. That the problem wasn’t what Alex thought, but that she was close. Instead, she stuffed those feelings away and allowed herself to be comforted by her _sister._ She repeated the words _family_ and _sister_ over and over.

The word ‘soulmate’ was banished from her mind.

 

 

Alex broke her promise, too.

Kara stood behind Alex. They both wore black dresses that waved in the wind. Her hands were clasped together in front of her chest as tears streaked down her face. Alex, had collapsed in front of the headstone and empty grave. Her shoulders shook violently, and all Kara could do was watch, frozen as she saw the damage she had caused.

It was _her_ fault. If she had just died on Krypton, none of this would have happened.

“Don’t you dare say that.” The angry, tear stricken face of her sister made her recoil. She’d said that out loud. Kara had never seen her sister so angry. “You’re not allowed to think that.”

“Alex…” Somehow, Kara had even made this about her. Alex was grieving, the funeral procession had just left after the empty casket had been lowered into the ground, and Kara had promised to stay for a while to be there for the girl who had just lost the most important man in her life.

“No. I will not have that.” A forceful hand grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace. Kara used her superior strength to become the rock that Alex needed this moment. Violently, the girl tried to pull her closer than she possibly could be, and Kara tightened her arms around the brunette. She felt wetness spread along the base of her neck as Alex buried her face here. A muffled voice sounded over the sobs. “It is not your fault. Say it.”

“Alex—”

“Say it.”

“It is not my fault.” She repeated the words. “But Alex, it is not _your_ fault either.”

There they stood, in the middle of the graveyard on top of a hill overlooking the ocean. Two young women, still in high school, and both had suffered so much already. Kara knew what Alex was feeling, and even to her darkest enemies, even to Timothy, she wouldn’t wish that feeling. Least of all Alex.

Alex refused to say the same words. “Say it, Alex.”

Her sister raised her head until they were face to face again. Alex’s bloodshot brown eyes looked slightly down on hers, Kara had grown the past years and she would overshoot Alex soon.

“Say it.”

Instead, Alex slammed their lips together in a way that must’ve hurt her. Kara stood there, stunned as her wildest dreams became true. The salty undertones, the taste of Earth’s seas, shook her from her stupor.

And she recoiled.

This was everything she wanted, except that it wasn’t. Not now, when Alex was grieving. Not now, when Alex was beside herself. Not now. When Alex looked horrified at her own actions.

“It’s not my fault.” Alex spat out the words. Kara’s eyes widened. Alex had noticed, she thought she’d managed to keep it a secret, but somehow Alex had noticed. Not trusting her legs, she simply watched as her sister retreated from the hill.

Not a week later, Alex left Midvale.

 

 

Four years is a long time to be lonely.

It’s not that Kara wasn’t alone, far from it. Her sunny persona, the mask she hid behind, attracted people left and right. She’d been fully adjusted to life on earth and, while still awkward and bubbly, she managed to make it through the first two years of college while making friends.

See, loneliness isn’t defined by being alone. It’s simply a mismatch between the desired social surroundings and the actual social environment. Whether she’d have one friend, or two, or a hundred, she would’ve felt lonely regardless of the number.

Kirsten shook her out of her stupor. The redhead’s face popped in front of her face, upside down, and curly hair dropped down like a huge curtain. “What’s up, not-so-sunshine?”

Today was the fourth anniversary of the last time she’d seen Alex. The betrayal still stung. She’d _promised._

Quickly, the mask slipped into place. “Nothing. You know me, spacing out all the time, right?”

Alex would’ve noticed. Kirsten didn’t, she nodded along. “Don’t every stop being so quirky, Kar.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “I was just asking if you want to come to the new bar.”

“You know I don’t drink.” Kirsten looked skeptical.

“Kara, they fed you liters of spiked punch at Halloween. _Liters._ ” How was she supposed to know the drinks were alcoholic if they didn’t affect her. “You took it like a champ.”

Kara had agreed to join her at a frat party, and the redhead had tried to get drunk. Kara’s chastity belt needed unbuckling. She’d overheard her explain it to some frat guys. They proceeded to attempt to make her drunk. One had kissed her, assuming her willing participation, but luckily they backed down when they noticed they she wasn’t into it at all. Quite the opposite, the was ready to break their manly bits, remembering the stories about guys like this, and she assumed these would take advantage of an unwilling girl.

The frat guys apologized. They assumed Kara had agreed about the plan with her roommate, but that she just needed some liquid courage. She also checked her own prejudices, just because a _lot_ of frat guys did take advantage of women, didn’t mean that _all_ were like that. Strangely, she had hung out with them more often afterwards and they weren’t too bad. They still were apologetic whenever she mentioned Halloween.

Kirsten had spent a week begging for forgiveness. All Kara could think about that Alex would never do something like that.

But Alex left. That was _much_ worse.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“But no drinks, and no talk about cherry popping.”

They invited Ben and Mike, the two frat guys who had since then left the fraternity, too. They were typical guys, checking out every girl that entered the bar. Passing judgement and sharing it with Kirsten and her. Not that her roommate was much better when it came to the guys. Only Kara didn’t join in with her own judgement calls, but nobody minded that she didn’t.

“Wow, she’s hot. 10 out of 10.” Ben, the groups ‘token black guy’ as he often joked, whistled. Mike perked up too.

“Shit man. You’re right. She simply oozes confidence.” Kara snickered at the way the two guys seemed dumbstruck by whoever just walked into the bar. She was tempted to look. Four glasses were put down on the table in between them. Three beers and a cola, Kara sniffed it to smell for alcohol and the group laughed at her paranoia. “Kirsten, check her out.”

“Wow. I might just be bi.”

“You slept with Joanna, doesn’t that make you bi?” Ben shot back. Kirsten ruffled his short black hair.

“Holy shit, she’s coming here.”

That’s when Kara heard. The footfall was different, but at the same time so very recognizable. She sucked in a breath. Slowly, she turned towards the direction the steps came from. They stopped in front of their table.

She dragged her view upwards. The first she noticed were the dark brown leather combat boots, followed by tight black leather pants. She tried not to leer as the slowly continued upwards. A motorcycle jacket, a black helmet held securely under an arm, resting on her hip, a necklace—the one with the ‘s’—followed by a steady tight smile, and _those_ brown eyes.

Her heart was beating erratically in her chest—almost in sync with the heartbeat she hadn’t heard for four years, but who’s particular rhythm she still recognized.

Kara could mistake the look for confidence, if she wasn’t able to practically read her mind. This was the furthest away from confident she’d seen her. Ever. The woman in front of her was a giant mask, not unlike the one she put on every morning.

“Kara.” Her name rolled of Alex’s lips smoothly. From the corner of her eyes she saw the shocked expressions of her friends and roommate.

“Alex.” She all but sighed the word.

“Can I,” Alex glanced at her companions, “talk to you?”

Something dark inside her wanted to lash out, deny her sister that after all the hurt she had caused her.

“Kara, babe, don’t be rude. Introduce us.” Mike interjected. Both she and Alex frowned at the nickname, she never did but with Alex here the nickname sounded wrong.

“Ah, eh, Alex, these are Mike and Ben, and Kirsten, my roommate. And well, this is Alex, my foster-sister.”

“Sister, huh? You never told us you had a sister.” She saw the hurt flash on Alex’s face. It’s not that Kara deliberately never told anyone about her, it’s just that thinking about the absence of her soulm—sister hurt her, physically. Talking about it was an impossibility. Ben finished under his breath. “Nor that she was this hot. I’d hit that even if she was my sister.” Kara was definitely not supposed to hear that.

Alex was still shuffling on her feet, not moving from her spot. The imperceivably small movements were almost too minute for even her enhanced sight. Everyone else would see Alex’s wide stance as confidence, but Kara saw a protective stance, Alex was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. She felt pity.

“I’d like to talk.” Another minute movement, a skip of a heartbeat, and Alex’s stance changed completely, while remaining exactly the same. The tension in the muscles was released. Only Kara noticed.

She followed her sister out of the bar. She immediately saw the motorcycle, a sleek dark blue sports bike. Kara crossed her arms the moment they were alone in the alley behind the bar.

“Well?” Whatever angry speech she’d prepared in many of her darker dreams flew out of the window when Alex collapsed. A moment flashed through her mind, Alex collapsing in front of a tombstone. This was the second time she’d seen her sister break.

Between the sobs the could make out the words. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Seeing the distress of her soulm—sister, damn it, caused a reaction inside of her, she knew she still loved Alex, always would, even if she wasn’t her sou—sister. She put her anger away, buried it next to her other feelings, and forgave Alex.

 

 

 

The next two years were blissful.

Kara graduated and moved to National City to be closer to Alex. Sure, she drifted apart with her old friends, but she’d make new ones. The most important person was back in her life. The years apart had been hard on them both, Kara knew there were things that Alex neglected to tell her and she hadn’t pried. Though on one night, she’d found the AAA pamphlets.

“Do you want me to join you?” She’d asked when Alex was about to leave the next Thursday, like she always did. She’d called a work thing.

Alex, of course, knew her secret was out. They always needed only half the words to communicate. Like now, Kara read the hesitation, the shame in those eyes. But, Alex being Alex, simply nodded and smiled. “I’d like that.”

That night she learned that Alex hadn’t been alright for the four years they were apart. Kara heard too many names of drugs she only heard in the news, all things Alex had used and was trying to disavow now, that she almost had a panic attack at all that could’ve happened when she hadn’t been there.

She kept a strong façade. It was now Kara’s turn to be there for Alex, like Alex had been for her when she came to Earth.

Drained, they curled up against each other on the couch once they got back home. Alex was dreading to know that Kara’s perception of her had changed, had been tainted at what she had put herself through.

“Why,” she licked her lips to lubricate them, “why didn’t you come to me?”

“When I started, ehm, using?” Kara nodded. “I couldn’t. It had already been a year since I… since I broke my promise. Every night, I couldn’t sleep because I remembered how I had promised that, and every day I chickened out going back. Every day, the barrier became higher and higher, until I needed something to keep me going.”

Kara squeezed the legs that were wrapped around her softly. “Make me a new promise.”

“Anything.”

“That’s enough. I promise the same.”

 

 

 

She woke up. That was a miracle by itself.

She remembered burning herself out while carrying Fort Rozz through the atmosphere, before throwing it on a hyperbolic trajectory out of the solar system. She also knew that she couldn’t have come back to Earth.

Going out with a bang, she called it. At least she’d known that Alex had been safe and sound, that’s what mattered. And the rest of humanity too, of course.

Kara still needed to open her eyes. First, she tested her muscles. Not a single one responded. Finally, she decided to open her eyes. The dry eye lids almost suck together, she felt disgusted at the effort required to open them.

She stared up at the familiar bright lights that literally bathed her in sunshine, _yellow_ sunshine.

She turned her head. The room was filled with medical equipment. They beeped and booped, whizzed and whirred, as they monitored her recovery.

There was only one chair.

Slumped against the wall, in the lonesome chair, was her sister. Kara found she looked frail, as if she’d lost weight. She opened her mouth, and tried to call out. Instead, she coughed at the dry desert that was her throat. Alex shot up in the chair right away.

“Kara!” Immediately she brought a cup of water, which Kara drunk greedily. “You’re gonna be fine.”

Kara was still unable to speak, she felt too weak, but she had so many questions. Alex explained how she’d gone after Kara. She wanted to be angry, Alex was supposed to be safe on the ground. Instead, she croaked a well-felt thanks.

“Don’t speak.” Alex whispered and pressed her lips to her forehead. “I need to say so many things to you. Things I only realized when it was too late to say them.”

Kara couldn’t do much but stare. Maybe that’s why Alex had chosen this time to speak her mind.

“I’ve known I’m your soulmate since before dad died.” Kara panicked. “Kal-El told me about that part—he didn’t mean to but he had assumed it about us.”

Alex looked like she was about to bolt again. But she didn’t, she stood firm.

“I was scared. You were so, so much more than I could ever aspire to be. And to have someone love you because something in their chemistry decided that, I felt that I was restricting you.” Kara shook her head—that’s not how it worked, at all! “I know now it works differently. Clark, he told me that soulmates were per definition compatible, mind, body and soul. Otherwise your body would not choose a soulmate. I countered that only worked when it went both ways. Humans don’t have soulmates in the literal sense.”

Kara wanted to reply so badly. She wanted to say Alex didn’t need to feel pressured. She wanted to say Alex had a choice. That Kara would support whatever she chose, as long as she could remain in Alex’s life in some way.

“I think that’s wrong though. Humans do have soulmates, I’m certain.” Alex was now impossibly close. “Kara, I’m going to kiss you, for real this time. Please blink once if you don’t want me to.”

Alex waited.

Kara didn’t blink.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, first one is out. If you want to specific prompts, the best way is to promote them to me in the comments section (alongside a comment about the chapter, it increases your chance!). If I feel inspired, I'll write about it. Feel free to post whatever prompt/idea you like, there may be things I feel uncomfortable in writing, but that doesn't mean you can't ask.


	2. Just Older

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex returns to Midvale for a high school reunion. There was one person she was both dreading and anticipating to see after eight years apart.

“Hey man, it’s been a while. Do you remember me?” She finished the remainder of the lyrics in her head. _When I hit these streets, I was seventeen._

It’s been eight years since she came back here. She used to be a bit more wild, a lot more naïve. Her formative years, her childhood, she spent them on these streets learning by making mistakes.

She’d never done it alone though. A photo stuck to the edge of her dashboard. The photo had been taken a bit longer than eight years ago. Two faces pressed together, one blonde and the other brunette, but both smiled equally wide. A few months later, she’d been accepted into Stanford. They promised they’d write, chat, mail, call, text and meet up next year when the missing half was accepted into Stanford.

One became too busy, the other didn’t get accepted to Stanford. And they drifted apart.

The wind whipped in her hair as she drove in the convertible over the country roads towards the ocean. It’s quite a long drive from National City to Midvale, but Alex enjoyed the time it gave her to clear her mind. And she always had an irrational fear of flying, which was part of the reason she didn’t come here during her studies. The other part had been buried deep down.

The small town looked frozen in time. The town itself was a single main road with many smaller roads coming off it. They tried a grid-like structure, like in the big cities, in the town center, but only one mile out it already became a meandering free-for-all. The main ‘avenue’, as they used to call it mockingly, still had the same familiar names for the shops. Though she was sad to see their regular café had closed and been replaced with an all too familiar green logo.

It was Friday evening and high-school kids roamed the streets and shops. She saw two teens running along, one dragging the other with her, and for a brief moment she swore one was blonde and the other a brunette.

If only back then, she’d known what she knew now. Maybe it wasn’t too late yet to chase her dreams.

Her school looked the same. ‘Midvale-High', the sign read. A memory resurfaced. _“No sir, we’re looking for Highvale-Mid,” blue eyes shimmered with laughter._ She had spent so many hours in those stuffy classrooms. She wondered if Mr. Lenny still worked here, he was her favorite—but her other half hated him, but that may have had to do with the fact that he taught chemistry more than his personality.

The car park was filled with uncharacteristically many cars for a Friday evening. She wasn’t the only one to come by car. She checked her glovebox and debated for a second, and then quickly slipped her sidearm in the holster she wore under her suit jacket. _Always on call._  

Banners were hung up at the school’s entrance. ‘Graduation Class of 2009’, they read, ‘these were the people’. _No._ She stepped through the door, and gasped. Every single locker in the hallway had a photo on it of someone that had graduated. No, that wasn’t true, every single locker had two photos on it of the person it used to belong to, one from then, one from now. Instinct returned, and her muscle memory took over. She was being lead to a familiar locker, one she had spent more time at than her own, which was on the other side of the school. She stopped a few times to look at pictures from the people she used to know, maybe it helped her later to recognize her old classmates—but Alex was always great with faces.

When she got the locker, she saw three pictures, not two. Her own young face was smiling back, no recent picture was to be found, but that’s not the one she was focused on. Her breath caught when she saw Kara’s piercing blue eyes and wide smile. She’d become even more beautiful than before.

Footsteps echoes through the empty hallways. The pep in the step was familiar, she never could walk normally and always added just a bit of extra bounce. They stopped abruptly at the corner. Alex’s eyes met hers. The photo didn’t do her justice.

They stared at each other. Alex gave her old friend a good look. She was dressed in typical fashion, cardigan, skirt, blouse, heels, no ring—she didn’t know why she checked. Alex surmised immediately that she was probably in journalism. Reporter or editor.

Those blue eyes swept over her as well. Alex hoped her hair was alright, she felt overdressed in her suit but the Bureau mandated it and she had headed here straight from work. She hoped that her holster was hidden, she knew her stance on guns probably hadn’t changed, that was always a point of major contention between them.

Finally, their eyes met again. Blue met hazel. They simply stared. Alex got lost in those expressive eyes. Those eyebrows furrowed just ever so slightly, like back then when she used to complain that Alex could read her mind through her eyes, the other way around never worked.

“Hey man, it’s been a while. Do you remember me?” She started.

And Kara snorted. Surprised by her own lack of tact, she clasped her hands over her mouth and nose. And snorted again.

Alex laughed, and it felt like she hadn’t done so on in ages.

“You’re quoting Bon Jovi to me? Do you realise the consequences?” Oh no. An evil glint showed up in Kara’s eyes.

“No. No. Nonono. Kara, no.” Kara pouted, and Alex knew she’d lost. “Okay, _one_ song.”

And just like that, Kara rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug. The, and she begrudgingly admitted this, now slightly taller woman shrunk in her embrace and buried her nose in her neck. “I missed you.”

Of course Kara would say those words first. That woman was too in tune with her emotions, and a blabbermouth, not to say whatever what was on her mind. “I missed you, too.” Alex never minded saying them second.

They stepped back. “You look… good, Kara. Better than good. Better than your photo even, and that’s a really good photo.” The blonde seemed to positively glow at the compliments.

“You too.” And then nodded towards the single photo of Alex on the locker. “Though in your case that’s not much of a challenge.”

“Hey! You always said I was beautiful back then.”

“And you _were_ , but my definition has slightly changed.” That made sense. “Why was there no picture of you?”

“I’m very private. No social media, et cetera.” But she wasn’t telling Kara anything she didn’t know. From her guilty expression, Alex knew that Kara had looked.

The PA system cracked. “The Reunion Kick-off starts in five minutes, better be on time or we’ll have to notify your parents.”

“We’d better go.” Kara nodded. They’d have more time to talk later. And maybe Alex could be courageous.

 

A dwarf was pounding with a hammer on the inside of her skull. She tried to swallow, to rinse her mouth of something foul the had drunk last night. It’d been ages since she had been this hungover. Why hadn’t she drunk a liter of water before bed, like she always did?

She sluggishly tried to get up. Her limbs did not respond, her body was heavier than it should be. At her movements, something stirred on top of her. Her body wasn’t heavier, someone was laying on top of her.

Suddenly her nakedness—she always slept naked—was not normal. And hand snaked up her torso and grabbed a fistful, the missed a few times at first so Alex knew this limb was not truly consciously trying to cup a feel. Something had a stranglehold on her, curled up on the right side of her, with her leg trapped between two equally naked—if the feeling of skin against skin was anything to go by—legs.

Alex swatted it away.

The hand seemed to protest and tried to sneak up once again.

What had she done last night? She can’t remember having plans to visit her preferred gay bar, so how did she end up here, in an unfamiliar room?

Alex looked around—she didn’t dare face the person that had snuggled up to her--and noticed the room was not all that unfamiliar. Most personal artifacts were gone, but she could clearly see this was a young teenage girl’s room. The walls were baby blue, a plushy collection—many she recognized—sat on one of the chairs, watching over the bed as creepy spectators, and posters of boybands were plastered on the walls.

Dread filled her. She _didn’t. Please tell me I didn’t sleep with a child._

She could lose her job.

Her eyes found her holster with gun on one of the dressers. A vibrant red lacy bra partially obscured it.

She _would_ lose her job.

She needed to get out of here. Alex tried to carefully disentangle herself from her bedmate, but she snuggled closer and didn’t let go. Her stirrings incite a sleepy murmur.

“Alex.”

She recognized that voice.

Alex would rather have slept with a minor.

She didn’t freeze in shock. Instead, she spasmed and her leg, which was between the legs of the blonde in her bed, pressed up and confirmed that yes, they were both very naked. She heard a breath hitch.

The blonde—whose hair prevented her from looking in those blue eyes—removed the offending strands from her face and stared straight at Alex. The FBI agent had never been more nervous.

Kara simply smiled. “Good morning.”

Why wasn’t she freaking out?

Kara did the exact opposite. And kissed her. Ignoring the horrid breath that Alex knew she had.

Images of last night rushed through her head.

Kara dragging her along to meet all their old friends again. Alex grabbing a glass of wine. Kara telling her about her life—she was a reporter for CatCo and Alex had even read some of her articles (she didn’t care about the writers, ever). Alex skimped over her own life and grabbed another glass of wine. Kara cashed in on her promise and they sung their version of _who says you can’t go home—_ Alex sung the parts by Bon Jovi and Kara the lines from Jennifer Nettles. Their class cheered at the appropriate choice of song. After which, Alex finished another glass of the local wine from California. The disco had started, and Kara had been dancing with all those old boys that used to have crushes on the blonde, just like she had. Alex had switched to beer. Kara was then standing in front of her, dragging her to the dance floor. Alex knew she should have declined, but instead she finished her second—or third?—beer. She remembered kissing Kara on the dance floor, then freezing up, and the blonde ran away.

She also remembered chasing her, and then pressing her roughly against the lockers, and then dragging her here, Kara’s room, in her parents’ home. Finally, she remembered having her way with the blonde.

So if she did all that, why wasn’t Kara freaking out?

And why was Kara a chipper as a chipmunk, when she was hungover like she hadn’t been in ages.

The blue eyes turned from elated to concerned. A frown appeared instead of the elated raised eyebrows and the smile vanished from those beautiful—and soft—lips. Kara pulled back, the blankets draped off of her and Alex had to force herself not to glance down from those blue eyes.

“You’re freaking out,” Kara said dejectedly. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

What the hell? Kara didn’t curse. At least, she never used to before, who knows what changed these past eight years.

“I’m going to jail, aren’t I?”

Alex was becoming more and more confused.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Kara blinked and tilted her head, like a puppy that didn’t understand something. “I took advantage of your intoxicated state while being completely sober. That’s _rape._ ” That’s not how Alex remembered it. “I kissed you on the dance floor, you froze, I ran and you chased. Then I pressed you against the lockers and dragged you here. You should probably arrest me on the spot.”

Alex’s memory corrected itself. Her drunk mind was still sluggish—confusing her many fantasies she’d had over the years with the reality of last night—and she deflated, her worry of her own wrongdoing vanashied. She tried to lift her arm to comfort the distraught woman, but she couldn’t move it.

Alex looked to the left, and found the problem. Her wrist was chained to the bed with her handcuffs. “That might be easier said than done, Kar.”

“Oh.” Kara turned green. “It’s even _worse._ I chained you so I could have my way with you however I wanted. Oh _no!”_

Alex was hearing all the things she wanted to hear for ages. Despite her headache, dry throat, nausea, dizziness, she found that a smile was growing on her face. Kara, who had buried her face in her hands, didn’t see it, and softly sobbed in her hands. _Shit,_ she really thought she’d done something heinous.

Using her other hand, the one that wasn’t chained but was still tingling with sleep because someone had slept on it, she caught Kara’s hands and pulled them off. “Kara, stop.”

“But Alex—” She remembered something she’d said.

“I told you, last night, that I’d wanted to kiss you for ages.”

“You were _drunk_. You didn’t so much as chase after me, you stumbled.” If Alex had not wanted it, then it certainly looked bad for Kara.

“But I did chase you.”

Kara shrugged. “You never could stand to watch me cry. It wasn’t voluntarily.”

Alex laughed. Kara frowned, a hurt look passed on her face.

The situation was unreal. Alex had spent her formative years convincing herself that she wasn’t gay and didn’t like Kara, then once she lost that battle, tried making sure that Kara never found out about the latter, and here she was trying to convince her that she had very much been a willing participant. “Come here.”

Kara shuffled close and bent forward. Alex couldn’t help but glance down. Once Kara was within reach again, she forcefully grabbed the back of her head. It was a gamble, but last night showed that Kara was anything but gentle with her. She brought Kara down to her lips and kissed her as hard as she could.

Once she released her, and Alex was more dazed than Kara, she saw that the blonde had crunched up her nose. She’d forgotten about her filthy mouth.

“Fuck, that was probably disgusting.”

“I wouldn’t call it disgusting, _per se_ —but we could do that as much as you’d like after you’ve brushed your teeth,” Kara had a twinkle in her eyes, teasing Alex like she always used to. With her affirmation, she saw that her childhood friend’s fears that she had assaulted her were gone. Though this Kara was slightly different, more confident, than she normally held herself. Confidence was sexy on her.

With a groan, Alex rolled out of bed. She stumbled in a non-sexy manner to the bathroom, feeling eyes on her the whole way. When she turned around, those eyes were _way_ below eye level. Kara met her eyes with a most smug look. Kara was proud of her conquest, and Alex reveled in that fact.

She grabbed a toothbrush—probably Kara’s if the Frozen decoration was anything to go by—and started brushing. She remembered that the reunion would continue this afternoon. With her mouth full of foam, she called to Kara. “Did anyone see us on the dancefloor? Kissing, I mean.”

The door to the bathroom opened. Kara leaned in the door opening, and simply watched her. Alex objectified her right back—her eyes roamed over Kara’s naked body on full display. “No. It was too dark.””

Relief washed over her, not that she wanted to hide it, but it would be embarrassing.

“The hallways were lighter though, and the dance ended just moments after you chased after me.”

_Shit._

Kara laughed heartily at her mortified expression. “You made a lot of people a lot poorer. Did you know they had a betting pool about us?”

“Who won?”

Kara walked over to her and positions herself behind her. She wrapped her arms around her, and, since she was the tallest now, rested her head on Alex’s shoulder. Alex looked at them in the mirror. She liked what she saw. They both a few more lines etched into their faces. Kara pressed their cheeks together and smiled broadly. Alex couldn’t help but smile as well, just like in the picture she had pinned to her dashboard.

“I’d like to think that _we_ did.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Barf. I never thought I'd write this fluff, but damn, it's sickening. 
> 
> Hopefully your stomach handled it better than mine :)


	3. Knockout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara's blown out her powers protecting Alex. Alex takes care of Kara, but another incident comes in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on a prompt by DJsaxby16 left in comments. I did twist it a little bit, because I couldn't find a muse for that exact prompt. 
> 
> Not 100% satisfied with the result, but I hope you enjoy somewhat.

“Alex!” Her ears ringed, everything sounded muted but she still recognized the despair in the voice. Disoriented, she shook her head to find what was up or down. Dust settled around her and she was clad in darkness. As she moved her head, the world followed on a delay. _Must’ve been hit hard._

In a flash she remembered how she got here. The building had been crawling with hostiles infused with Kara’s only material weakness. Alex had taken care of the flank, fighting and killing three radioactive mutants, when an explosion rocked the building—it had been booby trapped. She’d fallen through the floor. 

A coppery taste filled her mouth. She pit it in a random direction. The same wet slickness seeped through her hair. A rumble shook through the collapsed building she found herself in. She heard the explosion and felt the tremors. The fight outside must still be raging.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Slowly she made out shapes. She found herself in an abandoned army laboratory, the one they had been tasked to destroy after finding out a rogue element—which might have been sponsored by Lord—was still using it for illegal experiments. The lab equipment was thrown in disarray by the battle between Supergirl and the mutants that had been released from this prison.

Alex pushed herself up from the ground. She’d hit her head and bit through her own lip, but otherwise she wasn’t hurt. A growl came from her left. She reacted on instinct and rolled away from the sound.  A swipe barely missed her, the grotesque claws passed through the air where her head had been.

Her injuries prevented her from staying upright. She hit her shoulder as she rolled to safety. Alex gritted her teeth. Alert, she looked around for the zombie-like creature that was trying to kill her. Finally, she saw it. Green glowing veins were rushing towards her. She pushed from the crouching position and it missed her again, powering through and crashing into an old metal desk.

It recovered faster than her. It turned around and she could now fully see its radiation damaged face, with its pure black eyes and green hue in the veins that used to transport blood, but now transported the green radioactive mineral that was so deadly to one particular species. This mutant was designed for one purpose only, to kill Kryptonians.

They weren’t as strong as Kara—but there were many of them. And they were stronger than humans. She grasped at her holster on her hip, and felt nothing but an empty container. “Fuck.”

It stormed her again. There was no tactic to its fighting style, just pure rage and power. It slashed with its claw-like hands—much bigger than a human’s—and she barely managed to dodge it. _One good hit and I’m done._

It got her on the next try.

She was getting tired. Her breaths were labored, and her movements were still sluggish from the headwound and concussion. It struck her with the back of its hand and sent her spinning. She heard a gleeful roar as she crashed into a cabinet full of vials. Glass shattered all around her.

Fuck. She didn’t want to die like this.

It seemed happy at her downfall, almost gloating as it stalked over to her. It’s movements were ape-like, with a deliberate robotic flair, like it struggled to control its own limbs. She tried to push herself from the ground, she got on her knees. Her defiance angered it. _Kara, if you’ve got a miracle, now’s the time._

“ _Alex, get down!”_

She dropped to the ground.

A bright light cut through the room. Two laser beams swept the entire room from left to right, had she remained standing, she would’ve been cut in two. The mutant wasn’t so lucky. When the beams struck him, Kara seemed to realize she’d found her target. His mutated body was slightly more resistant, but not enough to withstand the full might of the angered Kryptonian. His skin glowed hot until it melted and it’s chest caved in.

It crumpled to the ground just like she had.

“Alex?!” Frantic shouts reached her, and she tried to get up. The building rumbled once again, dust was coming down and the tremors got worse and worse.

“Kara.” She croaked, and coughed, spitting out dust and blood. That was enough for her sister to locate her. In a blur, Supergirl stood in front of her.

“We need to get out of here, before—” It was as if the building was waiting for those exact words. The ceiling gave away and the floor above started to come down. Kara didn’t seem to think twice and enveloped her in a tight protective embrace. Despite the terror of the building coming down on the two of them, she blacked out knowing that she couldn’t be safer. .

 

 

Alex inspected her own hands and arms. They were clean and unhurt. Besides her initial head wound, she was totally undamaged. Tears prickled in her eyes, the sting of failure, as she looked up on her sister laying on the sun bed. Kara had blown out her powers when the building collapsed. The heat  vision that burned through the entire building had been too much in the presence of so much kryptonite. Carrying the entire weight of a three story building had been too much afterwards.

The blonde, dressed currently only in an hospital gown, was all the sickly colors you could imagine on a human body. Green and blue discolorations, red scrapes and black scabs covering gashes contrasted against a deadly pale skin. If Kara had been human, she’d be dead. Alex had feared it for a second, but the DEO got her under the concentrated sun lights quickly enough.

Luckily for Kara, she’d heal. The bruises had covered her entire body, but under the sun lights, her body would full heal before she would regain consciousness. It was marvelous, how resilient her body was, and she should revel in the biology of it if she could look at it objectively.

But she couldn’t. All she could think about was the scream that sounded from Kara’s mouth as her powers gave away.

That’s why she knew she had failed. She’d failed to keep Kara from getting hurt—even if there were no lasting damages.

She traced the fading edges of a large gash as the skin reformed under her very eyes. Alex had been sitting here for seven hours now. Simply watching as Kara’s bruises faded, and wounds recovered slowly. She committed it to memory—a motivation to be better next time. If she hadn’t gotten injured, hadn’t distracted Kara, then her sister wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

The door behind her slid open, she recognized the heavy footsteps right away. “Sir.”

Alex didn’t need to look to see his disapproving glare. He’d probably shake his head too. “Alex.” There was no need for formalities. “At least eat something if you aren’t going to rest.”

“Can’t really rest. Concussion, you know.” The excuse sounded lame in her own ears. A strong hand came to rest on her shoulder.

“You did good, Alex. It’s not your fault. Without your actions, the mission would’ve ended in disaster. And you know it.”

“I know.” She did know it. That didn’t make it feel any less of a failure. When your only personal mission was to keep the most important person in your life from getting hurt, this was the exact definition of failure. The fact that they could all have easily died barely registered in her mind. “Sir, permission to—”

“Stay with Kara afterwards until she recovers completely? Like I could stop you.” She smiled, thankful for the Martian’s sensibilities.

Hours later—she hadn’t even noticed J’onn leave—Kara’s skin was unmarred again and she started stirring on the bed.

“Alex?”

She shot forward immediately and clasped Kara’s hands in hers. “I’m here.”

“Intact?” She squeezed Kara’s hands. “Good.”

“Your powers are out though.” Kara pouted when she heard the news, as if Alex was holding them ransom. She knew that the blonde hated to be powerless, her powers were as much a part of her as her hands or legs. “But I have good news. I have the rest of the week off until you recover then.”

Kara smiled brilliantly.

 

 

“First some ground rules.” Alex said sternly. “Not Supergirl actions until you’ve recovered, unlike last time.”

Alex had followed Kara home, who immediately had plopped down on the couch in her apartment. Last time had involved Supergirl staring down the barrel of a gun without being invulnerable. Alex’s anger was still resonating within the alien, as she shrunk at the memory. “Yes, Doc.”

“Second rule: pretend you enjoy all the pampering you’ll receive.” At this, Kara perked up. Her head rose up from behind the backrest, and Alex had to stifle a laugh at the enthusiastic smile on Kara’s face.

For just a second Alex swore she saw a frown on Kara’s face, but that was quickly replaced once again by a bright smile. “I accept those terms. Alright, servant, bring me my ice cream.”

Kara disappeared once again behind the couch. When Alex returned, Kara was laying there with her mouth open, ready to receive said ice cream. Kara giggled when she fed her like a baby. She powered through the bucket like her life depended on it, and if you asked her it probably was true, but suddenly she stopped.

“Ow.” Kara gripped her head with both hands. Alex jumped up right away—what was wrong, did she do something? “Brain freeze.”

She let out a shuddering breath. Something Kara would’ve picked up on if she had had her super hearing. Now, the blonde only smiled sheepishly at her. “Seems we both forgot that part of our biology. Let’s slow it down, maybe you’ll actually enjoy the taste if you savor it.”

Kara made a silly face. “Math doesn’t work that way. If you enjoy one ice cream spoon per second, then you’ll enjoy two ice cream spoons per second more. It’s science!” Kara snatched both the spoon and the bucket from her hand and defiantly kept eating. After three bites, she flinched and gripped her head.

“Who’s the scientist again?”

“You are.” They took it more slowly. Kara sat in between her legs as they were propped up on the couch. The box of ice cream in Kara’s lap, but the spoon in Alex’s hands. She controlled the pace, which was always too slow for the hungry alien, but she didn’t relent. On the television was a show that Kara loved and Alex didn’t care much for, and normally she would’ve read a book while Kara watched her own, in Alex’s mind, silly shows.  

It’s been a while since they’d been like this. Alex knew they both loved it, but with their lives as hectic as they were, they hardly had time for these familial pleasures. Kara seemed to agree in the way she melted—like the ice cream, which was a sinful waste and she commanded Alex to speed up—into her embrace. Alex had always been the big spoon, unless she was she one hurting.

Kara tilted her head backwards and pressed a soft kiss on the base of her chin. It was something they did when they were together, something that told the other they appreciated them. They both knew it wasn’t sisterly—but they weren’t exactly sisters either. It wasn’t sensual, though they both loved it. “I know why you’re doing this. How bad was it?”

Of _course_ Kara understood her intentions. Alex muted the show on the television. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She felt a soft tug on her earlobe—another one of their gestures—and swatted it away, but she as glad nonetheless. It had cleared the blockage and she could freely speak. “I was unconscious when they found us. When I came to you’d already been lying under the sun beds for an hour. You were unrecognizable.”

The image of Kara, skin more black, blue, yellow, green, and red, flashed through her mind. It was mostly bruises, save for one large gash that had cut to the bone. Kara had used that arm to protect Alex’s head.

A soft squeeze on her knee brought her back. “I’m sorry,” Kara twisted around and snuggled against her, it was quite difficult to see where one body ended and the other began. “But not for saving you.”

“I’m not angry with you, at all.” She shook her head.

“But you feel like a failure.” It felt like she’d been slammed on the chest at how accurate her sister had read her. Kara’s sapphire blue eyes looked intently into hers, there was no judgement in her expression, just a statement of fact. She could only nod under that gaze. “Oh _Alex_.”

Her name was but a mere whisper. And, as only Kara could accomplish, she started crying. Kara, as if she suddenly possessed her super strength, flipped their positions around and now Alex was sitting between Kara’s legs, burying her face in Kara’s neck. Hands caressed her back, tracing Kryptonian symbols into her back. A gesture that brought comfort to the both of them.

“I’m sorry you got hurt. I failed to protect you as your big sister. I’m supposed to protect you.” She said what she’d been thinking ever since she came to in the hospital at the DEO. Kara nodded along.

“I’m such a failure.” Another nod.

“I don’t deserve to be your sister.” Another nod.

“You’re just nodding along, aren’t’ you?” Another nod. This time followed by a timid smile. As suddenly as she had started crying, she now choked out a laugh between her tears. She poked Kara in her side. Who would’ve veered off the couch, if Alex hadn’t been lying practically on top of her.

“Ow!” Kara glared, betrayal evident in those eyes. “Those normally don’t hurt.”

“Well, you deserved it! You’re not supposed to agree with me when I say those things.”

Kara smiled a winning smile. “So you’re saying that you don’t truly believe what you just said, otherwise you would want me to agree with you, and we’d have a full blown argument about that.”

Alex faltered, Kara _was_ right. She retreated from Kara’s embrace, who immediately pouted at the lack of contact.

Kara sat up as well and put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re always doing your best, Alex, but let me be the one to protect you sometimes as well.”

Alex nodded. “I just… seeing you hurt like that, it hurts me too.”

“If you truly feel that, you can make it up to me.” Alex cocked her head. Kara had a blush on her face. “Since my skin isn’t as hard anymore, you can give me an intensive massage. I’ve always wondered what the deal was with those.”

Alex could only blush in return as Kara made her wish known. They’d always had a strange physical connection as sisters. Some sisters barely hugged, most rarely even kissed each other’s cheeks, but for them, a peck on the lips was not that unusual. Nothing sensual—though Alex’s newfound sexuality had put a stop to those kisses. Neither of them had spoken about it, but they both had silently agreed.

Kara was looking at her expectantly. Right. A massage. She could do that. “Sure.”

The smile she got in return was blinding. Before Kara could even lay down on the cough, however, Alex’s phone rang shrilly through the apartment.

“Danvers.” It was her work phone.

 _“An Iglamodior is being chased by the local police downtown. We don’t know why it’s hostile, but you know their biology.”_ J’onn proclaimed from the other side of the line. Alex knew that the humanoid species, with feline attributes such as whiskers and pointy ears, could be volatile if driven into a corner. Their speed made them difficult to catch, and dangerous to defend against. Their species usually wasn’t all that aggressive.

She grabbed the tv-remote and switched to the local news channel. Kara, who couldn’t hear the commotion like usual, watched with wide eyes.

“I’m on my way.” She pocketed her phone. Then she swirled towards Kara, who was attempting to sneak out of the fire escape. “You, stay here! You don’t have your powers.”

“But…” She glared Kara down. Her sister tried to pout, but she managed to resist, to the alien’s chagrin. “You’re hurt as well.”

A bandage was still wrapped around her head. Alex removed it to show there was no damage, besides a small gash. “I’m all healed up and thanks to you the damage was minor. Promise me you’ll stay.”

Kara nodded. “Be careful.”

 

 

Alex crashed on the hood of a car. The windshield broke, but the safety glass didn’t cut her. She twisted on her side as an angry growl notified her of the incoming alien. The cat-like alien punched the car, it’s claws scratching the paint of the dented metal. It had not expected to miss her. His side was bleeding from a bullet wound, he had been shot by one of the cops, and Alex struck there.

He backhanded her in her face. She took the hit and, instead of crashing on her back, used the momentum to spin around and land deftly on her feet—like a cat. She smiled at the internal pun. The other kitten mewled and clawed at its wounded side, worsening his medical situation.

As far as Alex knew, this whole situation was one giant misunderstanding. The cat had made a mistake, police got angry, he got scared, police shot him, and that enraged him in turn. It wasn’t his fault, once enraged, an Iglamodior had to be knocked out or his rage would continue until exhaustion.

She swiped her own mouth. “Come, kitty, kitty.”

He rushed forward, his yellow eyes narrowed in anger and the pointy ears flat against his skull. He struck towards her head and she ducked. The second swipe, he was much faster than her, struck her in her stomach. The claws tore through the protective clothing, but got stuck in the Kevlar. “Gotcha.”

Another claw barely missed her head as she whipped out a syringe. Through the light brown hairs covering his skin, she saw glowing black veins. The hand that was stuck on her vest gave her enough time and precision to jab the needle straight into the vein. She stuck it in, but something slammed into the back of the alien before she could inject the paralyzing agent.

“Alex!” Kara looked her over, searching her stomach for wounds where the claws had torn her vest apart. Alex pushed Kara aside, but was too late. The cat struck Supergirl and she was slammed away from her into the door of another car.

Alex wanted to be angry at Kara. But there were other priorities. She jumped on the back of the creature and grabbed a second syringe. His arms reached back, and she felt the claws rake over her back. The vest, already damaged, gave away and one nail scraped along her shoulder blades. Running on pure adrenaline, she reached around his body and jabbed the syringe straight into its heart.

He dropped like a fly. Not dead, but paralyzed from head to toe.

As he crashed, she fell with him. She slid along the concrete road, scraping her already bleeding shoulder and arm. Immediately, she got back on her feet and sprinted over to the blonde Superhero that still had to bet back on her feet. “Kara, are you alright?”

Frantically, she inspected Kara’s body for overt wounds. Finding none, besides a few bruises that would fade within hours, she calmed down. “Why didn’t you listen?”

Kara shrugged, but otherwise blankly stared straight past her. _That’s weird._

DEO personnel rushed the scene. J’onn at the forefront. “Alex, Supergirl, everything okay?” Alex nodded for the two of them.

“I’ll take her home.”

In silence, she drove them home. Kara was still unresponsive. Once they were inside, Kara hugged her close.

“What’s wrong?”

“I felt so useless, powerless.” Kara explained. “I simply couldn’t stand by and watch you get mauled. I simply had to do something reckless. Is that how you feel?”

“Gee, thanks for calling me useless.”

Alarmed, Kara stood up and disntanced herself from the hug. “That’s not what—”

Alex grabbed her by the wrist. “Relax. I was joking. And you’re right, I do feel out of my league sometimes when you’re fighting, but I’d like to think I contribute to your success—” “You do!” “--and you’re still alive so we seem to succeed.” She didn’t have the heart to tell Kara that she made it more dangerous than it needed to be, by blocking her from executing her plan. “I also recognize that there are fights I cannot directly help with, and I stay out of your way.”

But it was true that Alex felt useless at times when Kara fought up in the sky with all kinds of aliens. Sometimes there were things she could do to help Kara, but she felt it was often minor compared to what her sister did. Of course, Kara was the one with the super powers.

To her sister’s credit, she glanced away guiltily. “I’m sorry. I just—I can’t help myself, I had to do something.” She sniffled. Alex couldn’t stand to watch Kara be sad. So she engulphed her younger alien sister in a huge hug. Kara winced, Alex had forgotten that she’d been thrown into a car without her powers to protect her.

“My whole body is sore.”

“Let that the takeaway lesson.” She smirked. “But you know what works against sore muscles? A massage.”

Kara lit up at the prospect, but then backed down when she saw the dangerous glint in her eyes. “Alex? I like massages, but you’re looking quite dangerous at the moment.”

“Well, I can hurt you know, can’t I? I know a quite painful type of massage perfect for sore muscles.”

 

An exhausted Kara occupied Alex’s bed. She was fast asleep, snoring slightly—something she swore Kryptonians never did—and looked peaceful. Her sister had yelped and moaned at the painful knots Alex rubbed out of her muscles, but ultimately, when the massage was over, she relaxed completely and had told Alex that the pain was worth it.

Alex pressed a kiss to her sleeping sisters forehead. “Alex…” Kara murmured, and Alex smiled. “Don’t go…”

“Have get my cut checked out.”

“Don’t go to the haunted mansion, Winn is a ghost there.” Alex laughed softly at the sleeptalking alien in her bed.

“I am a ghost buster, remember.” Kara’s distress faded.

“Yes, you are. The best.”

Standing in the doorway to her room, she glanced over her shoulder. Before turning off the lights, she took the completely relaxed blonde and made a photograph with her mind. She felt privileged to be the only person in the world to see this side of her. She’d do anything to keep it that way.

Alex had already forgotten about the near-fatal moment in which Kara had gotten hurt. Kara’s actions, altogether, had made her forget about all that. She was healed of those thoughts of self-loathing and pity, if only for a while. She couldn’t point out when those feelings had disappeared, but she knew that it was her sister’s doing.

Alex switched off the lights and closed the door behind her. Right before the door was shut, she heard a near desperate call. “Love you, Alex.”

“Love you, too.” She chuckled softly.

“Good.” Kara snored on, and Alex left her in the world of dreams. Even superheroes needed sleep.

 


	4. We Don't Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara's first anniversary on Earth comes up.

The wind blew steadily through her hair. Blond strands whipped across her face. The salty smell of the air coming from the ocean did nothing to lift her mood. The tree she was sitting on, moved with the strong gusts. It also didn’t help that it wasn’t used to carry a heavy creature like herself. She was no—what were those small critters that collected acorns called again?—yes, squirrels.

She barely recognized the precarious position she was in. At least, it would be precarious if she wasn’t indestructible.

_I hate humans._

She was surprised at her own admission. Never before had she generalized an entire species—except maybe the Daxamites. Today was one of those days that had kicked her when she was already down. It was the first anniversary of her arrival on Earth. The Danvers were trying to be kind, making this her ‘Earth birthday’, only because none of them knew the real day Kara was born, even she didn’t know how to convert the Kryptonian date to the Earth calendar.

Only one person in the family had noticed that Eliza and Jeremiah’s efforts to put a smile on her face were failing miserably. When Kara had blanched at the happy smiles on her adoptive parent’s faces as they brought the birthday cake into their shared room—how could they think this was a joyous day for her?—Alex had intervened knowing that Kara would have suffered in silence. She’d called her ‘Earth Birthday’ stupid. Both Eliza and Jeremiah got angry at Alex, but Kara was secretly grateful.

School was another fiasco. She got singled out for correcting the physics teacher when he said that it was a fact that nothing could move faster than light. This reinforced the idea that she never should speak up. Alex, who was two years her senior, had not been there to protect her. So she tried to stand up for herself.

That mistake led to her books being scattered along the floor of the hallways. Her glasses along with them, and her sight overwhelmed her, causing her to scramble along the floor to search her glasses. When she put them on, she immediately noticed Alex standing with the people laughing at her. Her sister wasn’t laughing, but she simple watched her with a frown on her face. That did more damage than the ten other teenagers that made crude remarks. One of them made a crude remark about her parents not wanting her. She ran away, crying, and missed the last hours of school.

The sun had been high in the blue sky when she got here. Now it was barely touching the water, and the scattering light caused the sky to glow red and orange, instead of the color of the ocean.

No one had bothered to find her.

Her tears had long dried up, but her lips still tasted as salt as the air she was breathing. The rhythmic sound of the waves crashing onto the cliffs below her was her comforting lullaby. She didn’t want to be alone, but she wanted someone to come looking for her. She wanted to be wanted.

The only who could possibly look for her, was her sister. Both Eliza and Jeremiah would be at work, but school had been out hours ago.

When the sun was halfway below the horizon, but its image still perfectly circular as the reflection in the water provided the missing half, she heard footsteps. A name was called out from far below her.

“Kara!”

She ignored it.

A pebble flew by, missing her and vanishing into the ocean far below them both. She ignored that too. The second one hit her and bounced off.

“Kara, please, come down.”

The reason she had taken to this tree was that it was near impossible to climb, at least for Alex. She wanted, and didn’t want, Alex to come up here.

A third pebble hit her as well, ricocheting off her arm.

“Kara, don’t make me do this.” She was temped to look, but she pulled through and ignored Alex’s taunts.

A large object burst apart against he back of her head. Wood splinters showered her and the force, combined with the surprise, threw her off balance. And she fell from the tree.

With a hard crash, she fell through the branches that snapped under her weight, and landed on her back at the base of the tree. She stared up at the red, orange, purple and blue sky through the hole in the branches that she’d created on her way down.

“Kara!” Footsteps approached her hurriedly. “Shit, I’m sorry, are you hurt?”

Kara, stunned at the fact that her sister had thrown her out of the tree, laughed. “Of course not.”

A body plopped down next to hers. “I was scared for a second.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have thrown rocks and branches at me then.” Kara bit back, but without much anger.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have ignored me.” Alex’s hand grabbed dusted the fragmented branch off of her clothes. Kara saw the busted knuckles and grabbed the hand in surprise.

“What did you do?” After examining the hand, she looked at her sister. Her lip had burst and her left cheekbone was bruised. “ _Oh Rao_ , Alex, what happened?”

Alex drew back her hand from her grasp and looked away. “Nothing.”

“So ‘nothing’ beat you up?”

“I won.” Kara smirked when Alex noticed her mistake. “I punched Ben. He punched back. Got detention. Now are you happy?”

Alex’s words did not make Kara happy. The opposite. She knew that Eliza and Jeremiah would be disappointed in Alex, because Alex would never admit that she did it because of her. She withdrew and got back up on her feet. Alex scrambled to get up as well. Right when she was ready to bolt, Alex encircled her wrist by her thumb and index finger. She stopped mid track.

Alex pulled softly, and Kara turned around moving with the silent command. Kara, shorter than Alex, looked down towards her chest, unable to meet her sisters eyes. Alex stood close, and whispered to her. “I’m sorry.” What for? Alex read the confusion on her face. “I should’ve stood up for you right away. Not when the damage was done.”

She turned her head up. Alex’s face was very nearby. She had a perfect view of her burst lip and damaged cheekbone. Tentatively, she reached up and pressed her fingers first to the bruised cheek. Alex hissed and winced at first, but when Kara pulled back she reached up and held her hand there, while shaking her head.

“I should’ve stood up for myself.” She whispered as she softly traced the brunette’s face from her cheek to the corner of her mouth. Alex’s wide brown eyes softened at her touch, no longer was the pain of the bruises reflected in them.

“’S not your fault. You’re still adjusting to life here.” Alex whispered against her fingers. Kara softly touched the split bottom lip.

“And to think I was angry at you, but you couldn’t follow me because you had detention.” Kara hated herself for lumping her sister with the rest of the humans. Once again, she noticed that generalizing everyone lead to wrong conclusions. “I’m sorry.”

Alex shook her head. “I know this is a difficult day for you.”

Kara, overwhelmed with gratitude, pulled Alex in a tight hug. Alex groaned at the pressure, but then wrapped her arms around Kara’s back as well. She buried her face in Alex’s neck, the brown longer hair tickled her nose. She pressed a soft kiss. “Thank you. I love you.”

Alex stiffened. That was the first time she’d said those words since coming to Earth. The first time she’d even thought them. For a second she was afraid that Alex would react badly, but then her sister relaxed again. Breath tickled her ear as Alex softly repeated the words. “Love you, too.”

They stood there till the sun was beneath the ocean and the last orange glows gave away to the dark sky of the night. Underneath the tree, Alex and she watched the first stars that appeared in the night’s sky. When the stars and the moon were the only sources of light, and the Alex’s watch struck twelve, they got up.

Kara felt a thumb brush her cheeks one at a time, only then Kara noticed the wetness that was wiped away. “It’s over, Kara. The day is over.”

“Thank you.” Her voice broke over the two words that didn’t quite capture how grateful she was. Then she remembered something. Her eyes widened and she sprung away. “Your parents!”

“Fuck.” Alex cursed, seemingly forgotten about them as well.

Kara turned her back to Alex and held her hand out as if they were going for a piggyback ride. “Jump on.” Of she didn’t run.

She flew with haste. The countryside sped by below them and she knew that anyone looking up would see a strange, fast moving shadow against the clear sky. Luckily, most people were asleep. As they got closer to home, Alex squeezed her arms around her. They both knew that Eliza and Jeremiah were not part of the sleeping population. Lights were burning bright inside the house, long rays of light were cast from the windows over the fields surrounding the house.

They landed in one of those rays. Her feet touched the gravel, making a clear noise in the dead of the night. The door of the house opened right away. A distraught Eliza rushed out, followed by a very relieved looking Jeremiah. Kara opened her mouth to apologize, for it was _her_ fault, but she couldn’t get a word out before her mother railed on Alex.

“Where were you? Why weren’t you home? Why didn’t you call? We taught you better than this. First you get detention for fighting with a boy twice your size, then you disappear with Kara for the entire day.”

“I—” She heard Alex say while her sister moved between her and the onslaught from the furious woman.

“Don’t talk back.” Kara bit the inside of her cheek. Why would Eliza ask questions if Alex wasn’t allowed to answer? “You’re grounded for the rest of the month. No cellphone, no surfing.”

Alex, who had stood firmly in front of her, shagged her shoulders and her head drooped down. “Yes, mother.”

Kara took a step closer towards Alex and reached out to touch her elbow. Alex whipped her head back and slowly shook it while looking her in the eyes, telling Kara not to interfere. She backed down.

Eliza then turned to her. “Kara, are you alright? We heard you were absent in school today, did something happen with your powers?”

The vastly different tone struck a wrong chord within her. How could she treat her real daughter so badly, while elevating her instead. Alex’s eyes widened as Kara squared her shoulders and moved past her to stand in front of Eliza with Alex behind her back. She simply ignored the warning in her sister’s brown eyes. “Nothing happened with my powers. Alex got in a fight to protect me from bullies. Then Alex found me when she heard I had skipped school.”

The hostility in her voice caused both Alex and Eliza to flinch.

“Alex did exactly as you have asked of her since she came to Earth. Don’t punish her.”

Eliza hesitated. Jeremiah, who had let his wife take point, stepped in. He put a hand on Eliza’s shoulder and then knelt down in front of the two of them.

“Alex, your mother was just upset and concerned. When we couldn’t find you after we got home, we didn’t know what to do. With Kara, we assumed the worst.” Alex’s hair brushed hers as she nodded. Kara didn’t back down for once. “Kara, it is admirable to stand up for your sister, but she should know better than to act like this.”

“Alex did nothing wrong.” She didn’t relent. “Either ground us both, or neither.”

Jeremiah, always the softer one of the two, backed down. “Alright, we’ll reconsider this time.”

Once he said that, Eliza also relaxed her shoulders.

“We’re still disappointed in your actions, but your intentions were good. You both scared us today. Now, go to bed. Tomorrow’s a new day at school which starts in less than eight hours.”

Kara dragged Alex behind her to their shared room. The moment they stepped inside, Alex hugged her as tightly as she ever had.

“Thanks. You know how much I like surfing and that this is the best month of the year.”

Kara felt a warm feeling engulf her. “It’s not why I did it.”

Soft lips touched her cheek for just an instant. “I know.”

She had all but forgotten the drama of the past day as she snuggled in the same bed as her older sister. Secure arms were wrapped around her as her back was pressed to Alex’s chest.

“I can’t wait to ‘see the other guy’ at school in the morning.” She quipped, earning a hearty laugh. She entwined her one of her hand’s fingers with Alex’s.

She remembered thinking she hated all humans. Alex wasn't all humans. She was much, much more than that to her. For good measure, she brought her sister's hand to her lips and pressed a soft kiss to it. Kara felt Alex shiver behind her, but returned the kiss nonetheless on the back of her neck, just above the collar of her shirt between her shoulder blades. With a smile, she forgot the drama of yesterday and in the safety provided to her, she fell asleep dreaming of not of a life on Krypton, but a future on Earth. 


	5. Hero for a day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex got a part Kara's powers. It required some adaptation.

 

 

It was a freak accident.

Alex had no other way to explain it. She was watching over Kara lying on the sunbed after a brutal fight which left her debilitated. Alex, watchful as always, reached to caress her sister’s hand. It always hurt to see the bubbly blonde lying under the artificial sunlight to recover from what should have killed any normal person a hundred times over.

Kara stirred but didn’t wake. Alex swore she heard her name whispered softly. She wondered if Kara dreamt while unconscious like this.

There was no warning when a powerful explosion rocked the building. She threw herself over her weakened sister. An electric surge ran through the building, blowing all circuits and sparks flew all around her.

Then the surge reached the sun lamps. An intense ray of light engulfed them both with intensity of much higher than the sun. Alex felt like her skin was burning. The lights burst into flames and lightning, showering them both in shards of glass. Kara woke up, blue eyes wide as she heard the near silent screams Alex tried to keep in.

Forked lighting lashed out and Kara twisted and turned to put herself between the lashing of pure power and Alex. Lighting, fused with the energy of the sun, hit them both at the same time.

They were thrown off of each other. Kara slammed into the wall and dropped unconscious. Alex, to her own surprise, managed to twist and turn mid-air and landed like a cat on her two feet. Instantly, she rushed to her wounded sister, there was no time to be surprised at the fact that she remained standing while the blast had knocked the alien unconscious.

“Kara!”

Alarms were blaring all around her. The smell of burnt plastic and metal lingered in room that was now almost entirely dark. She could still see clearly.

She pushed on the emergency contact button, but those fuses were blown too. She kept pushing and pushing on the button on the metal walls, frustrated that she couldn’t call for help. Finally, she punched the useless button. And her hand broke ripped the metal apart and stuck through the walls.

Alex couldn’t ignore this. “What the hell?”

She pulled back her undamaged hand and inspected it, turning it around in front of her eyes for just a second. There was no time to dwell on this oddity, and her mind was specifically well designed to deal with things of this nature with how often she’s seen things that _shouldn’t_ be possible but were.

She turned to her downed sister. Her eyes were drawn to a speck of red that stood out in stark contrast to those blonde hairs. She picked up the surprisingly light frame with one hand, and used the other to punch through the doors that had broken down. The metal panels flew off the hinges and bounced against the walls opposite like a snooker ball. Then she secured her hold on the blonde and carried her, bridal style, through the hallways of the DEO.

The building was in complete disarray and a small voice in her mind told her to help her colleagues, but only after she brought Kara to the safety of the natural sun light. She didn’t know what hit them nor what exactly the consequences were, but in the absence of the artificial sun light, then next best alternative was the actual sun on top of the roof.

She ran so fast she practically flew through the hallways. Maybe she did, by the incredulous looks she received from Hank and Winn.

Not even breathing heavily, she reached the roof not even a minute after getting out of the basement of the DEO, where they had the rooms specific to train Supergirl in.

Softly, she laid the unconscious hero on the concrete tiles on top of the building. The sun blared down on them both and Alex felt herself soaking in its powers. She ignored the sounds she heard through the walls, people clearing up rubble and counting up the damages.

She simply waited sat down and waited for the first signs of life to return.

It started with a flutter of the eyes, Alex leaned forward. Kara shot upwards with her blue eyes wide open. And slammed her head into Alex’s, throwing her across the rooftop.

Kara yelped in pain, and Alex did, too.

Alex recovered at the same time as Kara did, nursing her bruised forehead. When she locked her eyes with Kara’s, she saw a strange sense of confusion in those orbs.

“Alex! What is—I have my powers, but I also feel pain—and you should be… very hurt?” Kara had walked close to her, and traced the bruise she had just created on her forehead by her fingers. Alex winced at the careful touch. She returned the gesture. Kara winced too.

“I think, and it sounds crazy, that the power surge took some of your powers and gave it to me.”

She didn’t know what she expected, but it clearly wasn’t a huge smile that, despite her headwound and newly obtained bruise, lit up her sister from head to toe.

 

 

They found themselves standing in the a forest away from civilization. Alex was emboldened by her new-found powers. Kara wanted to see what Alex could do. She was talking the talk, but did she walk the walk?

“Be careful, okay. We share our powers so we’re not indestructible.” Kara warned her. She shrugged with a smirk.

“How hard can it be? Flying with your powers is easy!”

With all her might she pushed from the ground. Kara’s shout in warning fell on deaf ears, and it was too late anyway. The cover of leaves broke away as she punched straight upwards. Branches snapped off and plummeted to the ground. Alex had no time to register the damage she’d just caused. Instead, she flew straight up, scaring a family of birds.

Slowly, her velocity diminished. Until she reached the apogee of her trajectory. Then, she started falling. Realization started to come just as fast as she was falling back to the Earth.

She wasn’t flying, she simply _jumped._

The same birds she had scared away now seemed to mockingly stare at her as she sped back to the ground.

She curled up in a ball as the ground got closer and closer. There were no branches to break her fall, thanks to her own eagerness.

With a cloud of dust she buried herself into the dirt like a cannon shell.

As the dust settled and the ringing in her ears settled, she heard the loud bellowing laughs of her sister.

Kara had tipped over, crying as she was laughingly trying to admonish her. “You… you… just jumped! How precious!”

Alex looked indignant, dusting off the splinters and dirt. Luckily her skin had become stronger as well.

“You don’t jump, you hover.” As if to demonstrate, she lifted herself up from the ground seemingly by no force at all.

“Just _hover_ , she says,” Alex said, annoyed at how easy Kara made it seem. How did one just will themselves up in the sky? There was no ‘hover’ muscle to flex. She scrunched up her face in effort of concentration, but her feet remained firmly on the ground. She groaned in frustration.

Kara was gloating so much she was literally floating. Or maybe she floated to gloat.

“Say it.” She demanded of her. Alex grunted, but Kara didn’t relent. “ _Say it_.”

“You’re right, it’s not as easy as it seems.” She gritted out through her teeth.

“Sweet, sweet, _sweet_ vindication.” Kara lowered herself to the ground right in front of her She slowly touched down on one feet, balancing on her toes, before planting both feet firmly on the ground. “I’ll help you.”

Without warning, Kara grabbed her below the shoulders and raised her from the ground. Then, she promptly let go.

Alex stayed in the air.

She floated mid air, looking slightly down at Kara for the first time since the alien had outgrown her. “How?”

Why didn’t it work when she was falling down?

Kara, giddy at Alex’s success, floated next to her. “Instinct, or reflex. I’m not sure. Now, instead of trying to fly, imagine you’re standing on the ground and try to take a step forward. Your body will know what to do.”

After suppressing her excitement at the fact she was _flying_ , she pretended her feet were still on the ground. When imagining herself running towards the nearest tree, her body shot forward. In panic, she went faster and faster. She willed herself to stop, take a step back, and she slowed down. But it was already too late. She heard a loud laugh just before she crashed into the large tree. The wood shattered on impact and the tree fell down, taking smaller trees with it.

Kara, snickering underneath her breath, something that Alex wouldn’t be able to hear without her super hearing—how often did Kara mumble things no one could hear?—helped her up.

“What did I do wrong?”

“I guess you willed your body to fly, not to move. Don’t think of it in terms of flight, but in intentions of direction. When you, for example, climb a tree, you simply look at a branch and want to grab it, your body takes care of the exact movement of your arm, hand and wrist.”

The analogy clicked in her mind. Alex walked into the clearing, away from the destroyed trees, and halfway through on of her steps, simply lifted up from the ground. The delighted squeals of her sister brought a smile to her face.

She twisted and turned mid-air and saw Kara staring up at her with admiration in her eyes. A big smile stretched over the blonde’s face.

Alex, thinking about it briefly, flipped her body so that she was facing down and sped like a rocket towards the alien. She saw blue eyes widen before she collided with her sister. Arms wrapped around her as the two of them moved horizontally, then they were off. Alex struggled at first, but then she let Kara take over as they sped through the forest. They zipped through the dense trees. Slowly, she felt control being given to her.

Kara helped her with steering, but Alex felt she was in control as well. With a little nudge in direction, she sent Kara through the leaves of a bush while it barely missed her. Kara pouted as the green leaves stuck out of her blonde hair.

An evil glint got into those sharp eyes and Kara let her go completely. Alex tried to weave through the dense forest like Kara did above her, but she quickly lost control and slammed into the nearest branch. Before she crashed into the ground, steady hands corrected her course. Despite the wind whipping around her face, she heard a melodic chuckle as she was once again defeated by herself.

When they cleared the forest, Kara steered them upwards until they reached the clouds. There, staring over a field of soft fluffy white specks that covered green fields and forests, they stopped. Her chest was heaving, not from exertion but from exhilaration. Kara’s smile had become a permanent fixture, but she imagined her own was just as big.

They didn’t speak, but simple stared at each other. Alex could see so many details of Kara’s face now. Thin, almost invisible, lines of age around her eyes, spirals of color—none of them actually blue, but together they seemed so—in those eyes, the flawless skin wasn’t flawless at all, but the small imperfections made it perfect. Then it dawned on her. If she could see the flaws in the perfect Kryptonian skin, what did Kara see in her less than perfect skin. She wasn’t vain, but for some reason this was troubling.

Kara caught on. “You’re beautiful, Alex. Your eyes have basically become microscopes. Just zoom out.”

Right. Of course. She unfocused and the details vanished. Anything under a strong enough microscope was unattractive—even Kryptonian cells.

A loud tearing sound tore through the clouds. On instinct, she wrapped herself around Kara. Nothing happened.

“Car crash. Collision with an animal.” Kara peered down through the clouds. Alex followed her gaze. The thin cover vanished as she saw straight through it. She glanced at Kara. “Of course, we’ll help.”

She dove down first, with Kara hot on her heels. Alex wasn’t worried about being seen, she was wearing a black DEO suit and Kara had switched to her blue and right tights. An SUV was flipped upside down on the wrong side of the road and the mangled corpse of a deer was found on the other. It seemed the car tried to veer around the poor animal, but still nicked it. Already off balance, the car flipped.

Two pairs of feet touched the ground. She heard a youthful whimper, a boy, shouting a name. “Stacy!”

“Hold still.” She said after looking at Kara for confirmation. Her sister was giving her the lead. “Brace yourselves. I’m flipping the car.”

She grabbed the car on the hood and pushed it up. It was surprisingly light. The windshield was shattered, two teenage kids were inside the car. The young boy in the driver’s seat had an ugly gash on his face, but the brunette was passed out with a much larger headwound.

_Wear your seatbelt, kids._

Large eyes looked at them in surprise. The boy had calmed when he had seen the red boots and skirt from Supergirl, then confusion set in when it wasn’t the alien carrying the car. “Supergirl, try to get the girl out.”

Red lasers illuminated the car, the cracked and shattered metal reflected them in all directions. Then Kara carefully removed the mangled door while she kept the car steady. Her sister did the same for any obstructions while the boy kept Stacy in place.

“I’ll bring her to the hospital.” Kara said, looking pointedly at Alex’s outfit. She nodded, it would be a lot more difficult to explain to the public than to one kid.

“Wait! I don’t want to leave her!” The boy scrambled after them as they took off.

He then railed on Alex. “Take me after them.”

She shook her head. She hadn’t touched a human since she got these powers. Her brain hadn’t coped with the new found strength as quickly as it had with her capabilities to fly. “Can’t. Supergirl will do what she can, you know that.”

“Why can’t you?” Alex grabbed set of gauze, antiseptic and water from the pouch she’d had strapped to her upper leg—going out with Kara often meant trouble so she was always prepared—and gave it to the boy, along with clear instructions.

“Due to an accident, I share some of Supergirl’s powers. I don’t have control yet of how strong I am.” She nodded in the direction of the car. Two handprints were firmly put on show in the metal. The boy blanched. “What your name, kiddo?”

“Tom.” The boy winced as he put the stingy fluid on the gash in his forehead. “Don’t suppose I get to know yours?”

“Nope.” He returned the smile she gave him, although his looked more like a grimace. He then looked away longingly and hopelessly in the direction where Kara had flown off to with Stacy. “She your girlfriend?”

“Sister, actually, younger.” Her heart clenched, she’d probably felt like Tom a dozen of times. Her hand hovered above his shoulder, wanting to comfort him in some way.

“Well, she’s got a super hero looking out for her now.” He shrugged, his shoulder touched her hovering hand and she hastily withdrew it. “I called some people, they’ll be here faster than any other authorities. You’ll be able to support her soon.”

That seemed to do the trick. She saw herself in the young boy more than she liked. The feeling of helplessness contrasted by the knowledge that there was always something that she could do, no matter how small.

They waited in silence. Well, as silent as the world could be to her advanced ears. She heard the car coming from miles away. A black van with blinded windows pulled up next to them. People wearing FBI clothes got out, but she recognized Vasquez and Jackson.

“We’ll drive you to the hospital.” They had to do some damage control on the way. Tom promised not to tell anyone about Alex’s involvement—except his sister.

Kara was waiting for them, Stacy was already stabilized and cleared, she was just sleeping. Tom ignored the superhero completely and went straight to the bed of his sister.

Kara chuckled. “Reminds me of someone.”

She couldn’t help but blush and nod. “He’s a good kid.”

Then they heard the unmistakable sound of gunshots coming from a few miles away. A quick glance at each other followed by a simultaneous nod. Alex looked at the sleeping Tom and still unconscious Stacy. “Let’s go.”

 

 

Alex’s powers lasted for a week and a half. Despite her inability to exhaust herself physically, she was mentally completely drained. Hearing everything that goes on within a five mile radius unless you blocked it out—and thus ignoring people you could’ve helped—made her respect her sister more. Something she hadn’t thought possible.

She did miss it though.

She’d miss flying around on her own.

She’d miss being able to help people in the way Kara could.

She’d miss standing besides Kara, instead of behind her on the sidelines.

“I miss it already.” It wasn’t her that spoke those words. Kara had returned through the window in her apartment, dusting off come shrapnel from her suit. Alex nodded.

“Me too.”

“You’d totally rock skin-tight latex suits. Maybe with a boob window, I have one that Winn made still lying around somewhere.” Alex swatted her sister.

“Wait—Winn made you try on a boob-windowed suit?!”

Kara laughed loudly. Alex forgot about missing her powers as she chased her sister around her apartment.

“Or a leotard without the skirt, you’ve got great legs.” She threw a pillow through the room, which Kara deftly caught. “Or the one with just the top and a skirt, you can already bounce bullets on those abs.”

Alex tackled Kara, who let herself be tackled. She brought her mouth down to Kara’s ears and whispered. “Since you’ve got those outfits, bring them out so I can try them on.”

Two could play that game. What she didn’t expect was Kara to shudder underneath her. Her mouth opened slightly and a soft ‘oh’ reached her ears. Then she was flipped around and Kara’s flustering blush disappeared just as quickly as it had come.

“They’re my size. They won’t fit you.” Kara threw her over her shoulder and deposited her on the couch. “You promised me some Jessica Jones binge watching.”

Powers or no powers. Somethings never changed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the following prompt by Alice: how about Alex somehow gaining Kara’s powers for a few days and Kara has to help her learn to use them against the bad guys
> 
> Hopefully you like it!


End file.
